1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a picture search device and a recording medium readable for such a picture search device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a picture search device for allowing the user to easily find a picture of interest from a plurality of stored pictures and a recording medium readable for such a picture search device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many commercially-available conventional picture search applications display a scroll bar in a display window, along which a slider can be moved so that a picture corresponding to the position of the slider is displayed.
However, there is no conventional picture search application which emphasizes a picture in the display window which is currently being focused on by the user (hereinafter, referred to simply as the "user-focused picture"). Therefore, there is inconvenience for the user in finding a picture of interest out of a plurality of pictures displayed in the display window.
In the conventional picture search applications, the position of the slider along the scroll bar is used to determine which one(s) of the plurality of pictures is to be displayed. In many of the conventional applications, since the scroll bar and the slider each have a fixed length, it is typically necessary to move the slider quickly in order to have a large interval of stored pictures between two displayed pictures or slowly in order to have a small interval therebetween (hereinafter, such an interval is referred to also as the "display interval"). Such manual adjustment of the display interval is not convenient. Although some of the conventional applications allow the user to adjust the display interval, it is also troublesome for the user to input a value each time the user wishes to change the display interval.
Thus, it is desired to provide a picture search device which displays pictures in such a manner that the user can visually and easily select the picture of interest.
It is also desired to provide a picture search device which displays reference pictures from which a picture of interest is selected by the user, where the user can freely and easily set a reference picture interval which represents an interval between two displayed reference pictures.